Originally posted on Cabinetmaker+FDM on July 24, 2014
New documents offer information to encourage partnerships between students, teachers and industry, plus a new campaign underway to show “the new face of manufacturing.”
At a Joint Education Committee meeting held in April at WIC 2014, representatives from WMIA and AWFS met with woodworking educators in a roundtable discussion of “How can the industry help the educators of our woodworking schools?”
Many of the educators present already had some of their students benefit from the WMIA Education Foundation’s scholarship program but Education Committee Chair Jason Howell wanted to take the conversation further.
In an effort to encourage suppliers and manufacturers to take a pro-active stance on building tomorrow’s workforce, AWFS has created a series of guideline documents targeted to industry members on offering student internships; bringing teachers into a company for a crash course that can then be incorporated into lesson plans for the classroom (called an externship); how to host a school tour; and how to offer and prepare for a presentation in the classroom. AWFS also created supplementary forms such as application and evaluation forms, to help businesses get started in considering these avenues for working with schools. All the documents are available for free download and customized use from AWFS’ website at www.AWFS.org/education/industry.
AWFS is also working on a campaign, “Meet the new face of manufacturing,” to improve the image of woodshop in the schools and of jobs in manufacturing. AWFS has identified target audiences for a variety of marketing efforts, beginning with a poster that will feature photos of young people who hold various careers in the industry.
“We want students as well as career counselors, parents, teachers, administrators and even legislators to be wowed by the images and reality of the variety of jobs and that young people are entering the industry,” explained Fister. “We want to communicate the message that it is hip, high-tech, cool to work in the industry and that it is a viable career path.”
AWFS intends for the campaign to be ongoing and hopes to utilize a number of eye catching images. “We welcome photos of new faces in the industry from any company for use in the campaign, provided they have that edgy flair that will be in keeping with the campaign,” said Fister. “We ask participants to sign a release form as well as a release from their photographer if they are using a professional.”
If you would like any additional information on any of these programs, please contact Nancy Fister, AWFS education director, at nancy@awfs.org.